Fence-machine



(No Model.)

' H. G. GADY.

FENCE MACHINE.

No. 482,335. Patented Sept. 13, 1892.

WIT/VESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY GQOADY, OF PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS.

FENCE-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 482,335, dated September 13, 1892.

Application filed January 14, 1890. Serial No. 336 918. (No model.)

To ctZl whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY G. CADY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Pine Bluff, in the county of Jefferson and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fence-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that type of appa- I used in this class of apparatus to give pivotal support to the crosser-frame and by making provision for the frequent removal of said crosserframe without requiring excessive strain upon the wires or great effort by the operator in withdrawing the pivoted point from the earth.

It is my purpose, also, to provide for the occurrence of uneven ground beneath the line of fence and to provide a simple construction whereby I avoid the necessity for digging away the soil or breaking away a ledge of rock, should such a formation occur, in order to enable the apparatus to be used and placed at substantially uniform intervals, in order to equalize the tension and firmly secure the pickets at substantially the same distance one from another.

It is my purpose, finally, to simplify, improve, and cheapen the construction of machines of this type; and my'invention consists, to these ends, in the novel features of construction and new combinations of parts, hereinafter fully explained, and then particularly pointed out in the claim following such description.

To enable others skilled in the art to make, construct, and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View showing my invention in use. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing one of the swiveledeyes for carrying a Wire removed from themachine. Fig. 3 is a detail view, upon an enlarged scale, of that part of the mechanism upon which the eye shown in Fig. 2 is swiveled. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a possible position of the machine when in use.

In the said drawings, the reference-letterA indicates one of the posts of an ordinary fence placed in the ground at suitable intervals to support the strands with which the pickets are interwoven.

The letter B indicates a series of pickets in process of being interwoven with the wire strands stretched between the posts A in the usual manner.

One of the simplest methods of interconnecting the vertical pickets is to cause the wires of each pair to cross each other and place a picket in the angle or opening between the intersecting wires. The picket being held closely against the crossed wires, the latter are then crossed again, a suitable tension being used to draw the Wires closely against the picket. a

To afford cheap, simple, and efiicient means for producing the successive intersections of the pairs of wires, I construct the crosserframe D, which is composed of asingle integral bar or wire bent at intervals into zigzag form, thus producing a frame composed of arms (1 d, which diverge from each other at a small angle, the points of divergence being upon opposite sides alternately of the frame. At the points of divergence the arms d d are bent to form angles of comparatively small divergence, said angles opening upon opposite sides of the crosser-frame alternately. The bent portions or angles d are reduced to form bearings d having a vertical axis, or nearly so. Upon each axis is mounted a loop 6, which swivels freely upon said bearing, upon which is formed an eye 6'. Alike construction is provided at each of the angles connecting the arms d d. The bar or wire, after forming the lower arm cl, is bent back upon itself and its extremity turned downward to form a pivotal bearing G, which lies in the central axial line of the frame, or practically so. In like manner a crank-arm F is provided at the upper end of the frame, being formed of an integral portion of the bar or wire, which is bent upward to form a central or nearly central axis or crank-shaft d, which is substantially coincident with the axial line of the pivotal point G. The crosser-frame is formed of a single piece of wire bent into the form described and shown, whereby it has an elastic yield in the direction of the central longitudinal line or vertical axis of said frame, thereby enabling the pivotal point (1 and Gto approach each other in a limited degree. The wires 0 0, being supported in keepers on the posts in a suitable manner, are led through the eyes a upon the swiveled carrier E, the wires of each pair being brought as nearly opposite each other as possible and any number of such pairs being employed. The crosser-frame D is now moved until it is brought into suitable proximity to the post, its movement upon the wires being facilitated by turning until the arms d d are in or nearly in parallelism with the 'wires. At a suitable point the axial extremityG is driven into the soil. The crank-arm F is now operated to turn the crosser-frame D until the arms d d are substantially at right angles with the wires of the strands, thereby crossing the same and putting the wires under considerably greater tension, and a picket or paling B is placed in the opening or angle formed by the intersection of the wires, and the crosser-frame D is again turned to cross the wires a second'time and inclose the picket.

It is evident that in machines of this type the wires will be drawn more closely up against the pickets, and a more secure interconnection will be obtained the closer the crosserframe D is brought to thelast picket set. In

order to preserve a suificiently-uniform tension of the wire and interval or space between the pickets, the crosser-frame D should be moved at such times as to accomplish these results. To make each removal, the point G is withdrawn from the ground and the frame is moved to the point required, where the pivotal bearing is inserted and the operation repeated.

It is evident that where the ground is more or less uneven the pivotal point G, if inserted in a raised part, may raise the crosser-frame D too high, and thus produce such tension in the wires that the machine cannot operate, or

can only operate by removing it to a considerable distance from the picket. It is not always possible to avoid this difficulty; but by providing for a limited yield of the crosserframe D in the line of its axis the obstacles caused by average variations constantly recurring will be practically avoided and the machine will be enabled to operate under such circumstances at substantially uniform intervals from the last picket inserted. Moreover, the provision of such a yield will very often avoid the necessity for violent exertion on the part of the operator in displacing the point G and moving the machine, especially where projecting ridges of ground must be passed over in making such removals; To effect the result specified, I construct the crosser-frame D of a single continuous bar or wire of suitable size, whereby I impart a suificient degree of elasticity to provide for all ordinary requirements. This is partly due to the fact that when made in one continuous piece the number of bends or angles will usually be increased, and, I thus obtain a number sufficient to accommodate any number of strands of wire. Moreover, in .addition to these advantages I materially simplify and cheapen the construction, as I am able to dispense with any base-plate to carry the point G, and no connecting-joints are required to attach either the said point, the crank F, or the bearin gs e.

.What I claim is A wire-fence machine consisting of a crosser-frame formed of a single continuous piece of wire bent to form small diverging angles opening upon opposite sides of said frame alternately and turned at the ends of said frame into substantial coincidence with the vertical axis of the crosser-frame, the diverging arms and alternate angles having an elastic yield in the direction of said axis and the angles being provided with loops for the wires, while the lower arm of the frame has a pivotal point to enter the soil, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY G. CADY. Witnesses:

S. A. TERRY,

PAUL W. STEVENS. 

